We really want to make our own yogurt but it just has been a disaster!
Okay I got the counter-top "villi" starter from "cultures for health" and its not worked at all for me. I don't have a local source for raw milk but have been trying it with unhomogenized, non UHT pasturized whole milk. The first step goes well- you make a half-cup of yogurt to be your starter. But then when I mix that with the rest of the milk and let it set, I just end up with a jar of spoiled milk. I don't know why! I follow all the directions. I even contacted CFH and they sent me 2 new packets of starter ("villi" and "matsoni") in case the original got killed in the mail. No better. That was September. I thought, okay, my house it too hot or something (we don't have A/C so temps can fluctuate quite a bit, though its really not THAT hot here). I put the starter in the freezer, and tried again this week. same thing. I've thrown out so much milk b/c of this!!
So, now I just want to give up with these cultures (what little bit I still have left) and try w/ heated milk. I tried one recipe, wrapping the jar in towels and all, ended up even more totally gross.
I do have a brand new slow cooker, but the recipes I'm seeing online (like http://www.nourishingdays.com/?p=912) just seem like too much babysitting for me to do properly. Couldn't I just heat the milk on the stove, cool it to 115 or whatever, stir in the "starter" yogurt, and then put it all in the crock pot set on "warm" overnight? Would that work like an electric yogurt maker or good big thermos?
What store-bought brands of yogurt have worked well as starters for people? I usually buy the Strauss brand of yogurt but I could buy a small container or something else just for this purpose.
I remember doing this as a kid with my mom in our thermos and it was totally easy. ARGH. I have some kitchen demons or something that are not letting me make my yogurt.
Okay I got the counter-top "villi" starter from "cultures for health" and its not worked at all for me. I don't have a local source for raw milk but have been trying it with unhomogenized, non UHT pasturized whole milk. The first step goes well- you make a half-cup of yogurt to be your starter. But then when I mix that with the rest of the milk and let it set, I just end up with a jar of spoiled milk. I don't know why! I follow all the directions. I even contacted CFH and they sent me 2 new packets of starter ("villi" and "matsoni") in case the original got killed in the mail. No better. That was September. I thought, okay, my house it too hot or something (we don't have A/C so temps can fluctuate quite a bit, though its really not THAT hot here). I put the starter in the freezer, and tried again this week. same thing. I've thrown out so much milk b/c of this!!
So, now I just want to give up with these cultures (what little bit I still have left) and try w/ heated milk. I tried one recipe, wrapping the jar in towels and all, ended up even more totally gross.
I do have a brand new slow cooker, but the recipes I'm seeing online (like http://www.nourishingdays.com/?p=912) just seem like too much babysitting for me to do properly. Couldn't I just heat the milk on the stove, cool it to 115 or whatever, stir in the "starter" yogurt, and then put it all in the crock pot set on "warm" overnight? Would that work like an electric yogurt maker or good big thermos?
What store-bought brands of yogurt have worked well as starters for people? I usually buy the Strauss brand of yogurt but I could buy a small container or something else just for this purpose.
I remember doing this as a kid with my mom in our thermos and it was totally easy. ARGH. I have some kitchen demons or something that are not letting me make my yogurt.
